Deep Sinking.

Ere I conclude, I desire to direct attention to another important feature of mining of the present day which has been entirely neglected on the West Coast. I refer to deep sinking, the general result of which all over the world is fraught with the most satisfactory results. Take the series of mines at Charters Towers in Queensland, splendid paying mines not one of which is less than 1000ft in depth. In Victoria deep sinking is the rule—the Lansell series being the most conspicuous. Tasmania and South Australia also possess many valuable mines of the same character. No effort, worthy of the name, has been attempted on the West Coast—although surface indications have been most promising in many di rections. The result of deep sinking proved successful at Ross in the [unclear: lluv3] deposits, as demonstrated years ago by one of the most enterprising men of the day. I refer to the Cassius claim and the spiendid run of gold met with at the lower levels—but there the record under of that mine due entirely to bad management.

Reefton forms an interesting page in the history of reefing on the West Coast. Upper levels exhausted valuable properties sold and abandoned-not a solitary effort made to solve the problem of deeper deposits. The Mines Department looking on with indifference only one or two futile attempts to [unclear: drive] a deep level tunnel and the whole [unclear: affaira] dismat failure. This splendid field, which has turned out hundreds of thousand of ounces of gold in a few short years practically left to struggle along, awaiting some chance circumstance or other to restore it again into activity. Such is in reality the short history of this field which if in any other part of the global would soon be assessed at its real worth and become a most importar, mining centre, capable of employing a large industrial population.